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Creative Problem-
Solving for Case
Interviews
2011-12
J-P Martins, Consulting Careers Team
19 October 2011
First year MBA consulting skills programme
1
Great consulting CVs
Intro to consulting careers – undecided
Creative problem solving for case interviews
Advanced problem solving for case interviews
Mastering consulting interviews
Summer Consulting Team 2012
On Campus Recruiting
6 September
…for the undecided
13 September
…for the committed
31 October
1:1s commence
12-15 September
Presentations by stream
3-7 October
Detailed reviews
17-21 October
Recalls
14 October
½ day intro
19 October
Tools & techniques
5, 26 November
Crack a Case Super Saturdays
14 Jan 2012
Crack a Case Super Saturday
14 November
Presentation
16 Nov on
Workshops
31 January
Deadline to submit case
18 November
½ day workshop*
* Incorporating Winning consulting cover letters and Personal brand
3 January
Commences…
21 February
Launch
Today vs. 14 November
Today
Basic tools and tips, frameworks
Enough of a grounding to be able to get started on most cases you will encounter
Preparation
14 November
Building creativity
Differentiating yourself
Equations
Props
Psychology, perspectives
The case journey
What is the answer/what could it be?
Either/or…If/then…
2
I asked Twitter and LinkedIn what tips I should cover for case interviews today…
“Learn to structure your thinking from the very beginning so you don't get lost in the case and have a clear narrow scope from the beginning”
- BCG Associate and MiM alumnus
“Never let the big picture out of your sight. Dissect the problem in a structured way but keep the pieces integrated”
- Consulting Careers Blogger
“Here is another one: I recommend candidates not to memorize frameworks. Instead of cookie - cutter approaches, customized/flexible frameworks/structures will give them more room to maneuver”
- Consulting Careers Blogger
“Over invest in organization. Most mistakes I see in practice cases are due to a lousy structure”
- Bain Associate Consultant Tweeter
“Not only lousy structures but also inflexible structures prevent candidates from figuring out the right path to take”
- Consulting Careers Blogger
3
Agenda
Types of case – review data
Structure – frameworks
• P&L
• Driver tree
• Denominators
• Options
• 3 ‘C’s
• Value chain
• Priority/optimisation
Other frameworks
• 5 forces
• 7 ‘S’s
• 4 ‘P’s
Preparation – your next steps 4
Case variety
A broad spectrum of types of case are used by our recruiters – 4 main types have been identified
Similarly, a variety of sectors may be addressed
Traditional 35 minute cases predominate but other formats are growing
These data are heavily skewed towards just 6 recruiters
Europe and North America are the predominant geographies addressed in cases
5
Type of case:
6
Profit improvement, 19%
Market entry, new product/business, 17%
Company diagnostic, +/- strategy, 10%
Value chain or business
model, 10%
Response to industry-changing shock, 8%
Growth, 7%
Quantitative test, 7%
Cost reduction, 5%
Market attractiveness, 4%
Valuation, 3%
Network or portfolio optimisation, 2%
Acquisition strategy, 2%
Other, 8%
Sector:
7
Telecomms/Media/ Technology, 16.1%
Healthcare, 15.1%
Manufacturing, 12.6%
Retail, 12.6%
Mining, energy
& utilities, 8.0%
Transport & logistics, 8.0%
Financial services, 6.0%
Hospitality, travel & tourism, 4.0%
Construction, 3.5%
Arts, entertainment & recreation, 3.0%
Public administration, 3.0%
Other, 8.0%
Format:
8
‘Traditional' 1:1 case, 20-35 mins, 80%
‘Long' 1:1 case, 45+ minutes, 11%
Presentation' or role play, 3%
‘Test' - written or typed, 2% Other, 4%
Firm:
9
BCG, 24%
McKinsey, 21%
Bain, 17%
Booz, 8%
Roland Berger, 7%
Parthenon, 6%
LEK, 5%
Monitor, 4%
AT Kearney, 2%
Accenture, 2%
ZS, 2%
Geography:
10
Europe, 45%
North America, 20%
Global, 14%
Asia, 10%
Africa, 7%
Other, 6%
Agenda
Types of case – review data
Structure – frameworks
• P&L
• Driver tree
• Denominators
• Options
• 3 ‘C’s
• Value chain
• Priority/optimisation
Other frameworks
• 5 forces
• 7 ‘S’s
• 4 ‘P’s
Preparation – your next steps 11
How do you improve the profit of a restaurant?
12
P&L – easy isn’t it?
13
Profit
Revenue
Price
Quantity
Cost
Variable
Fixed
Driver tree adds value
14
Profit
Revenue
Price
Mix
Markup
Quantity
Items per seat
Seats/table
# tables
Table turnover
Hours open
Cost
Variable
Labour
Ingredients
etc Fixed
Dish of the day Upsell on taking order Redesign menus to showcase most profitable dishes eg 2nd cheapest ‘Bundle’ eg seafood platter for two
Ask about starters, desserts Take drink order first, come back for food later ‘Side dishes?’ Charge for bread
Breakfast, lunch, dinner Happy hour, early bird, post-theatre offers
Focus on food and drink?
15
Profit
Contribution
Margin
Food
First course
Main
Dessert
Sundries
Drink
Alcohol
Soft
Water
Hot
Quantity
Fixed cost
Margin
% take up
X
Maximising number of customers?
16
Customers
Walk-ins
Passing traffic
% looking at menu
% going in
% finding a table
% ordering
% finishing meal & paying
Destination
Web bookings
Telephone bookings
Third party bookings
Denominators – dealing with different capacities/loads
Airlines • Revenue per RPK • Load factor • Cost per ASK
Abattoirs • Cost per Stock Equivalent Unit
Retail • Revenue per sqm • Cost per sqm
17
What is the best denominator for a restaurant chain that spans business (lunch) and suburban (dinner) locations?
Improvement – different lenses
Waste • Raw materials (mass balance) • Energy (calculate, measure
waste streams) • Time (white space, rework) • Labour (job, activity analysis)
Time • Building a house • TBC
Segmenting • Tailor processes to groups
with particular needs
18
Process map
Lay out the steps
Outline key info next to each
Prioritise opportunities
Redesign
Iterate
Tables are great! You can use them to lay out calculations…
Segment A Segment B Segment C Segment D Segment E
Size 500K 300K 50K 20K 2.5K
Frequency Monthly Weekly Weekly 2 x weekly 3+ x weekly
Spend per meal
£35 £20 £30 £30 £45
Margin 10% 15% 12% 5% 5%
Overall ? ? ? ? ?
19
Really add value to a table – add row “Implications for Client”
…options, segments, etc
Option A Option B Option C Option D Option E
Expected Value
✔✔
✔✔✔✔
✔✔
✔✔✔
✔
Risk ✔ ✔✔✔ ✔ ✔ ✔✔✔
Fit with strategy
✔✔ ✔ ✔✔✔✔ ✔
Fit with capabilities
✔✔ ✔ ✔✔✔ ✔ ✔✔
Overall ✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✔ ✔
20
Betwen these two: Higher value vs better fit? Between these two: Higher value vs better fit?
Really add value to a table – add row “Implications for Client”
Revenues are being eroded by a growing takeaway market. Should we open our own takeaway next door?
21
3 ‘C’s – a starting point only
Market Entry
1. Customer - market attractiveness • Size • Profitability • Growth
2. Corporation (costs) • Can we? (resources, technology, people…) • At what cost? • What would we need to do differently? • How? (eg business model, make vs buy…)
3. Competitors • Who? • How competitive? • What advantages/disadvantages? • So what share could we expect? • Where should we need to focus?
22
By segment?
Our exec chef has a proposal – fund him to produce a range of starters for other restaurants – if it works we could grow into delivering whole meal solutions. What do you think?
23
Value chain
Sourcing Fabrication Assembly Warehousing Distribution Sales Service
24
Where is money made?
Where do we have an advantage?
What alternative business models exist?
Outsource/insource/partner
Make vs buy
Think of the industry (ecosystem) – the whole profit pool
Prioritising things
25
Big Small
Stagnant
Fast growing
Prioritising things
26
Hard Easy
Not
Valuable
Prioritising things
27
Risky Dead certs
Incremental
Game changing Pursue selected options as part of balanced portfolio, seek partners to mitigate risk?
Insight comes from what the client does differently to each ‘box’
REJECT!
No brainers – raise capital if needed
Consider, execute if sufficient resources
Optimising
Eg • Breakeven • RoI • Margin • Commute
Equation
Graphical
Logic (forced pair) • A > C • C > B • => A best
28
Optimising
29
Cost
Rev
Max profit
Breakeven, or indifference point between two options
Commute – by bike
Agenda
Types of case – review data
Structure – frameworks
• P&L
• Driver tree
• Denominators
• Options
• 3 ‘C’s
• Value chain
• Priority/optimisation
Other frameworks
• 5 forces
• 7 ‘S’s
• 4 ‘P’s
Preparation – your next steps 30
Other frameworks are available…
…but beware
Nothing beats a bespoke understanding and prioritisation of the issues (next presentation)
However, here are some tools… • Porter’s 5 forces • McKinsey’s 7 ‘S’s – where you need to think through all aspects of an
organisation • The 4 ‘P’s of marketing • PEST (political, economic, socio-cultural, technological) • SWOT • 5 whys • Cause and effect diagrams • Decision trees • Cost/benefit
31
Agenda
Types of case – review data
Structure – frameworks
• P&L
• Driver tree
• Denominators
• Options
• 3 ‘C’s
• Value chain
• Priority/optimisation
Other frameworks
• 5 forces
• 7 ‘S’s
• 4 ‘P’s
Preparation – your next steps 32
First year MBA consulting skills programme
33
Great consulting CVs
Intro to consulting careers – undecided
Creative problem solving for case interviews
Advanced problem solving for case interviews
Mastering consulting interviews
Summer Consulting Team 2012
On Campus Recruiting
6 September
…for the undecided
13 September
…for the committed
31 October
1:1s commence
12-15 September
Presentations by stream
3-7 October
Detailed reviews
17-21 October
Recalls
14 October
½ day intro
19 October
Tools & techniques
5, 26 November
Crack a Case Super Saturdays
14 Jan 2012
Crack a Case Super Saturday
14 November
Presentation
16 Nov on
Workshops
31 January
Deadline to submit case
18 November
½ day workshop*
* Incorporating Winning consulting cover letters and Personal brand
3 January
Commences…
21 February
Launch
Practise is key – but only until you’re ready
Structuring
• 20+ cases?
• Fin Times…
• 10 minutes each
• Structure, plus alternatives
Cracking the whole thing
• On your own – 10 cases? Work through a book (eg LBS Case Book?)
• In informal groups – 10 cases? Case in Point?
• Through Club – 3-6 cases? Crack a Case
• Mocks – 3 x ‘Super Saturdays’ 34
There is no shortage of resources – you will run out of time first – Google is your friend! Bain Tips
http://www.joinbain.com/apply-to-bain/interview-preparation/crack-the-case.asp
Bain Cases
http://www.joinbain.com/apply-to-bain/interview-preparation/practice-videocase.asp
http://www.joinbain.com/apply-to-bain/interview-preparation/practice-case1-quest1.asp
http://www.joinbain.com/apply-to-bain/interview-preparation/practice-case2-quest1.asp
BCG Cases
http://www.bcg.com/join_bcg/interview_prep/practice_cases/competitive_strategy.aspx
http://www.bcg.com/join_bcg/interview_prep/practice_cases/distribution_strategy.aspx
http://www.bcg.com/join_bcg/interview_prep/practice_cases/increasing_profits.aspx
http://www.bcg.com/join_bcg/interview_prep/practice_cases/revenue_growth.aspx
Booz Tips
http://www.booz.com/global/home/join_us/apply/case_prep
McKinsey Tips
http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/how_do_i_apply/how_to_do_well_in_the_interview/case_interview.aspx
http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/how_do_i_apply/how_to_do_well_in_the_interview/case_interview/Approaching%20the%20case%20interview.aspx
http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/how_do_i_apply/how_to_do_well_in_the_interview/case_interview/techniques_and_tricks.aspx
McKinsey Cases
http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/how_do_i_apply/how_to_do_well_in_the_interview/case_interview/practice_cases/Great%20Burger.aspx
http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/how_do_i_apply/how_to_do_well_in_the_interview/case_interview/practice_cases/Magna%20Health.aspx
http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/how_do_i_apply/how_to_do_well_in_the_interview/case_interview/practice_cases/Magna%20Health.aspx
35
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